Panda Lost Weight. Again.

I’ve been watching the Panda fit-pics making the rounds on Twitter. Good for him. Here’s what he looks like today (well, a few days ago):

Here’s what he looked like before:

Well, it’s nice to see that he’s done what we all knew he was going to do: get in shape for money. I’m excited because it means our 2014 offense gets a boost. Of course, it would have been nice to get a boost last year. But whatever, let’s just stay in the positive and hope for the best. And by *hope for the best* I mean if Sabean gives this guy a 5 year 100 mil deal in the Spring, I’ll puke. He’s gonna get fat again. Book it.

Yeah he’s going to get fat again. I’m struggling with my weight so I can sympathize a bit. You would think money would be a powerful incentive to keep it off. A long term contract demands a weight clause for sure.

Keeping Piazza out of the hall makes it a joke. I agree with Craig about the character crap, but at least the is some evidence against the big name players like Clemons Bonds etc.None against piazza that i have heard of..
Panda looks good! I’m optimistic about the offense. You can make a case that every position player but belt and Pence underperformed last year.
Same for Cain…

If you look at the picture closely, it doesn’t look odd at all. It’s just difficult to see his entire arm at a casual glance. It’s all clearly there at a closer look. Conservatively there might be a couple million odd looking photos.Trust me- there is nobody behind Panda, they are his fingers, belly, ears, nose, thighs… it might be spray on hair, though.

Dodgers have implied they will not be outbid for Tanaka. I don’t know…. remember when the commissioner stopped that trade of Joe Rudi, et al, to the Red Sox? I can’t even remember the exact reason anymore, but if ever there was a case of the commissioner’s office doing something like that in “fairness” or “parity” or whatever, this would be it. I mean, adding Tanaka to that already stellar rotation? It’s insane. Would love to see the Giants’ ownership snatch Tanaka out of the Dogs’ greedy grasp…. Odds that G’s owners would do that.. pretty slim, but it would be sweet.

Weight clause…OK, tell me what his optimal weight is? What is he not allowed to go above before being sentenced to terminal cardio work under supervision of some triathlon guy?
Seriously, at what weight has Sando played his best baseball in the past–those 2 years he hit .300 or better? Any blogger here know?
I’ve asked this type of question before and the only response has been, “he’s too fat and he sucks.” Which given all the other esoteric saber geek analysis stuff I read here, seems pretty unscientific to me.
There’s a Flap poll waiting to happen–what should Sandoval be required to weigh in at?

20 pounds less than whatever his high was last year should do the trick. That still gives him some *pudding* room. Right now he’s probably around 40-50 pounds lighter than he was last year, if that pic isn’t altered at all. And again, a weight clause just keeps him from completely falling apart. It doesn’t keep him in optimum shape. And as he gets older, this will be critical to his success. I don’t give a fuck what he weighed when he was 23 or whatever. As he enters his 30’s I want that weight controlled.

Fair enough. I just don’t think un-professionally trained bloggers from the viewpoint of the couch/sports bar are sufficiently qualified to give an opinion more expert than Giants training staff and Groesch. They know where they want him to be and how best to get (and hopefully keep) him there, wherever *there* is.
And I think * baseball shape* is way way different from other major sports, esp for a 3b.

Any player is an investment for a team. If the team wants him at a specific weight (and they are paying him millions), then they should have the right to put a weight clause in the contract. I don’t know the weight the trainers want him at, but regardless, it is a proven fact that being overweight affects your joints, it’s tough on the ticker, etc. So while I don’t know the optimum weight…it needs to be a whole hell of a lot less than it was last year.

I’m out for a while. Got the friggin’ flu. My chest sounds like somebody’s crinkling saltines in there.
Do yourself a favor. Get the flu shot. Now. You do not want this shit. I’m on the albuturol inhaler, and hot tea and chicken soup IVs. Later…

Yeah, bummed about this. I wanted the Yankees to pay the luxury tax and have them fume while ARod’s career continues to slide steadily downward without benefit of his ass injection shots. They still might have to pay that luxury tax if Tanaka san is signed.

I may be the lone ranger here, but I would like to see the Dodgers sign him – Their epic fail next season will be that much sweeter! I don’t believe any of that “back of the baseball card” crap about their players. We all seem to forget that the GMen ruled the division (best record against all of them) last season. Now we need to play as well against the Cubs, Cards, etc.

First thought: That’s Panda? Sober second thought: Maybe a cousin? Consideration three: Maybe there is an optimal ideal weight for the dude, somewhere betwixt the Pillsbury Doughboy and the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. If that is him, he’s closer to the latter right now. There must be some sports medicine studies on ideal weight per body type.

Frankly, my dears, i’m more concerned about Pablo seeing the ball (which often did not seem to be the case last season) than his perfect balance between blubber and clobber. Yet to be convinced that his eye-surgery was all to the positive. If Panda perceives that pill he will revert to being a force of nature and the Giants offense could go for he gold.

Still think we are probably short a starting pitcher. For any educated guess, there’s simply too much evidence on the back of the baseball cards to ignore. OTOH, I remember feeling similarly about the team heading into 2010 — that somehow we were a player short of playoff contention, although back then it was the offense with the bigger question marks.

I enjoyed BF’s rant a few threads ago about eliminating personality and sticking to the numbers when voting for the HOF. Sounds like a great way to think about active players, too 🙂

If everything goes how we hope, we have two #1’s, a #2, #3, and #4.
If everything goes as it did last year, we have one #1, one #3, two #4s, and one #8.
My guess: one #1, one #2, two #4’s, and a whole bunch of #6’s
James is right- they needed to get another starting pitcher. A legit 2 or co-ace.

Yeah, we’re OK, thanks for asking. Some severe thunderstorms just kind of swooped in on us with some crazy ass winds. I was taking the Christmas tree out and it was like a firehose got turned on me, it didn’t just come down, it came in sideways hard. I was soaked in seconds. Been a strange week of weather for us, from being in the teens and frozen pipes to being in the 60s with tornado warnings, and at the moment looking like a day that ya could Q (if you don’t mind standing in puddles). Whatever, I won’t be going over to Charlotte but to my favorite Nags Head sports bar, The Lucky Twelve Tavern, where I expect to take a lot of shit during the game. Go Niners.

I know they are kinda gross, but sunflower seeds got me off cigarettes. I never like gum much, but the seeds helped a lot. And, they are kinda baseball related! Funny thing is, cigarettes still smell good when I happen upon someone having a smoke, say, 3 miles away.

Good luck with that. It does get easier with time. I tried about 6 times to seriously quit, and it took a bet to make it stick. A guy I know bet me $1,000, on Dec 31st 1998, that I couldn’t quit smoking for a year. I took the bet. I had 1 smoke in my pack, so I smoked it at 1:30 am Jan 1, 1999 on the porch in San Carlos. Technically I lost the bet, but that was the last one. Just hit the 15 year mark after smoking for 21+ years. Course, the guy moved away and never paid me but all worked out.

If we are bringing back Dontrelle Willis for a tryout, why not Jason Bay (who is contemplating retirement or Japan) and Chone Figgins, who is working out for potentially interested teams this week. Shit, nothing to lose by working all these stiffs out . . . Who knows? Something might “stick to the wall.”

If Sandoval has a terrific season, and the Giants don’t get him re-signed during the season, he’s going to be a major prize in the free agent market. The Yankees will probably be needing a thirdbaseman, and maybe the Dodgers, too, and so on. It’d be bizarre seeing other teams marketing Panda hats.
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I have this “thing” about the Patriots getting away with cheating, and I kid you not, I watched about 10 minutes of their game yesterday, and saw the Patriots throw down an intended Colts receiver 15 yards past the scrimmage line, and a Patriots defensive player “tackle” Luck by tripping him, as Luck was about to run for a first down at a crucial moment in the game. Of course, the officials somehow didn’t see either infraction, even though everyone else in the nation did.
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The MLB Network is “all A-Rod” this morning. Yawn…………….

Local entertainment rag *Metro* had an excerpt from ex-Niner (briefly) Nate Jackson’s new book, “Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile”. Interview with him was great and so was the excerpt about him going to tryouts, being encouraged by Walsh and signing contract with SF. Should be a *good read* I bet.

I quit tobacco 30 years ago. Was up to pack a day (even before playing pick up b-ball games with friends), this when they were $1.50 a pack. I had just changed jobs into present one and wasn’t in good eco situation. Figured the $500 plus a year I was spending on those things could be put to better use… toughest thing were the *auto* ones–with first cup of coffee, after a meal, on break at work, etc.
Good luck Bozo–get out and take a long walk whenever/often as possible.
Might want to wear something over the Niner’s gear, tho.